Truth & Reconciliation
by dino-dog83
Summary: "Callie," Stef started. But the emotional teen cut her off before she had a chance to explain any further. "No, you said you wanted to adopt us." She said standing up from her seat. "You're just like everyone else, ready to make the trashy foster kids someone else's problem. How long have you been looking?"


**A/N: Ok Fosters Fans, here's a little something that I came up with when I saw the previews for next weeks (1x18) episode. So slight SPOILER ALERT FOR 1x18 (Just the promo!)**

**To those reading Thunder and Tears. I've begun work on Chapter 3 and have an outline... stick with me, writing is a process not to be rushed!**

_**The truth will set you free, but first it will make you miserable.  
-James A. Garfield**_

"We found your dad." Stef confide with a broken heart to the two children sitting in front of her.

Callie's face immediately dropped. How did this happen. Everything had been going so well since she'd returned from Girls United. She'd stayed out of trouble. She was gaining back the trust of the family. She'd even started to open up to Stef and Lena about her and Jude's lives.

"You found him." Callie was shaken from her thoughts when she heard Jude talking beside her. "Where?" He finally asked.

"He works as a mechanic a couple of hours from here." Lena calmly told the boy.

Not wanting to hear any more from these two women, Callie couldn't keep silent any longer. "Why did you lie to us?" she asked evenly with downcast eyes and a hint anger in her voice.

"Callie," Stef started. But the emotional teen cut her off before she had a chance to explain any further.

"No, you said you wanted to adopt us." She said standing up from her seat. "You're just like everyone else, ready to make the trashy foster kids someone else's problem. How long have you been looking?"

"It's part of the adoption process Love." Stef tried once again to explain.

"We are obligated by law to try and contact the biological parents before the adoption can be finalized." Lena tried to explain to the angry teen.

"I believed you." Disgust evident in her voice, she couldn't believe that she had let herself trust these people and let them in. "I trusted you." She said with force before turning on her heels and heading for the stairs.

Stef and Lena sat in silence for a moment watching the brunette retire to the safety of her bedroom.

"Is it true?" a small voice asked.

"Is what true Honey?" Lena asked turning her attention to the younger Jacob sibling.

"That you never wanted us?"

"Of course not, Sweety." Lena cooed moving to sit next to the boy on the bench, wrapping her arm around his shoulders. "Stef and I love you and Callie very much, and would be very happy to have both officially a part of this family."

"Is that something you still want Honey?" Stef asked Jude.

He sat quietly for a moment his head down looking at his fingers intertwined with Lena's. "Yes." He smiled wrapping his arms tightly around Lena's neck.

Stef leaned in and wrapped her arms around her son and wife before excusing herself to upstairs to talk with Callie.

***FOSTERS***FOSTERS***FOSTERS***FOSTERS***

"Hey, I thought you were downstairs." Mariana absentmindedly said upon hearing her sister enter the room, as she continued to work on her hair. "We should totally go to the mall this weekend."

Callie ignoring Mariana's proposal and went straight for the closet. Grabbing her duffle bag she angrily began shoving her clothes into it.

"Whoa. What's going on? You know Mom's are going to freak if you run away again."

Letting out a nervous laugh before she replied; "I won't have to run this time." And with that she continued to thrust her belongings into the thin blue bag.

"Callie, what's going on? You're scaring me." Marianna said, not knowing what else to do. "Should I get our Mom's?"

"Your Mom's," Callie corrected. "And no!" She said shaking her head but never looking up from her task.

"Callie." Came Stef's voice from the doorway.

"Mom, what's going on?" Marianna's worried voice asked.

"I need to talk to Callie for a minute, yeah?" Stef said placing her hand on her daughters shoulder as a sign that everything would be alright. And with that simple jester Mariana understood that this was a private conversation between her Mom and sister and Stef or Lena would come make sure she was ok later. She quietly excused herself from the room, but not before looking back and seeing tears spilling from Callie's eyes.

"Callie." Stef tried to get the girls attention once she was sure they were alone.

"What?"

"Can we talk for a second?" Stef asked taking a seat on the teens bed.

"What for?"

Stef sighed. She knew Callie wasn't going to make this easy, but she didn't think it was going to be this hard either. "Please." She begged. After what felt like forever to Stef, she got her wish, Callie unceremoniously plopped herself down on the bed beside her.

"Mama and I started looking for your Dad shortly after you and Jude came to stay here." Stef started feeling the teen deserved nothing but the truth. "We thought it might be the best option at the time. We only looked for a couple of weeks and then we were happy that we didn't find him." At this admission Callie looked at Stef for the first time, surprised etched in her features, tears still in her eyes. "Don't look so surprised. We love you guys." She admitted with a smile.

"Then why…" Callie tried to ask but the waver in her voice betrayed her.

"Honey, please believe me when I tell you that we only started looking again after we asked you and Jude to be a part of this family. It's just a part of the adoption process." Callie heard not only the words in Stef's voice but the love and hurt too. With tears now freely streaming down her face the teen reached out wrapping her arms tightly around the blonde's midsection. Stef in turn wrapped her arms around Callie with one on her back and one in her hair trying to offer comfort.

"So what happens now?" Callie asked pulling back from Stef's embrace while wiping the tears from her cheeks.

"Well that depends on you, and what you want to do." Stef said sitting on the bed once more and patting the bad beside her. Once Callie had joined her Stef continued. "Do you want to see him?"

"I did." Callie started. "When uh, when I ran away I called him, at the prison you know." Stef nodded and Callie took that as a sign to continue. "He's been out for over a year." She stopped her story once more, this time to take a deep breath trying to compose herself before continuing. "He's been out for a year Stef why didn't he come get me?" Callie asked sounding more like a little kid then a teenager.

"I don't know Baby." Stef said before wrapping her in her embrace once again.

"I want to stay here." Callie's muffled voice said into her mother's shoulder.

"Then Mamma and I will do everything in our power to make that happen."

"Promise?" Callie asked her teary eyes full of hope.

"Promise." Stef confirmed. "Common, let's go talk to Mamma and Jude and sort this all out, yeah?"

Callie nodded and wiped at her eyes once again as she made her way towards the door with Stef trailing behind her. "Thanks Mom."

_**-Fin**_

**A/N2: I am going to leave this here as a one shot. I have no plans to take this any futher at this point. But one never knows. Hope you enjoyed and please review!**


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